


Charmless

by bemoretea



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Drama, Humor, M/M, Multiple Relationships, Necklaces, Pining, Romance, bit of pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-19 13:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3611769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bemoretea/pseuds/bemoretea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where everyone in the world has a necklace with a charm that takes the shape of half of a heart and connects them to their soul mate.</p><p>Zayn's the only idiot that loses his, and it's not a problem until he meets Liam - the gorgeous guy whose only determination is to find his soul mate - and things get complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

A 13-year-old Zayn struggles to keep up with his two best friends (it would be three, but one of them is currently unavailable), jogging slowly as his necklace keeps hitting against his diaphragm.

“Hurry up, ya cunt!” one of his friends, Niall, shouts as he tackles Harry to the ground and laughs when Harry glares at him.

“I told you no cursing!” Harry flips them over so that he’s on top and proceeds to bite Niall’s thumb when Niall tries to slap Harry. Niall yelps in pain.

Zayn glares down at the annoying piece of jewelry everyone is given when they’re born. It’s weird, once you think about it. How one is mysteriously conjured up once the mother names the child. He grabs the heart piece and looks on the back of it. It has his full name engraved in it. Each one is jagged in a way that only your soulmate can make their other half fit them together (Zayn and Niall seriously tried to put their necklaces together; it wouldn’t work).

His is currently black, Niall’s is black as well, and Harry’s the only one of the three to have one that’s a deep red. His mother used to tell him that when he found his soulmate, the piece would illuminate a bit, like a mini-flashlight, and intertwine with his soulmate’s to make a whole heart, and the two pieces would turn red.

He saw the whole thing happen when Louis met Harry. Harry was new to his neighborhood, and they became fast friends when Zayn saw him reading a comic book (he wasn’t actually reading it, Zayn finds out, he was just using it to block the sun out of his eyes). But when he introduced him to his two other friends, they were surprised to see Louis and Harry’s necklaces shine and come together.

They’re avoiding each other now; neither of them have experience with this sort of thing, so they decided to ignore the problem at hand and never see each other again.

He takes off the annoying necklace and places it on a nearby picnic table. The thing had always been too big on him; he never grew into it like the rest of the kids in his grade had over the summer. Every time he’d reach over the dinner table to grab a napkin, the necklace never failed to sink into his food.

Once it’s off he smiles to himself before running off to join his friends, shouting a ‘dogpile’ and jumping on top of the both of them.

 

It isn’t until the next morning when he’s reaching for a napkin, and an object doesn’t dip into his cereal, that he realizes he forgot his necklace. He searches his chest and his neck all around for it – as if it were going to magically appear – before he panics.

“Mum?” Zayn mumbles as he watches his mother walk over with a plate of pancakes for her herself.

“Yes, dear?” she responds, smiling sweetly at her son.

“I think— I lost my necklace. I left it at the park.” He’s frowning now and bowing his head in shame.

Trisha merely kneels down to his level and gives him a hug. “It’s okay, honey, we’ll just go to the park after school. M’sure it’s still there.”

Zayn smiles at his mother’s reassurance and nods his head, heading to school with his worry forgotten.

Well, forgotten until he goes back to the park and searches endlessly for it and realizes it’s gone, for good.


	2. The First Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i really hate writing these tbh, just read to find out lool

The now 24-year-old Zayn rolls out of bed and hisses at the cold air hitting his naked body. He pulls on a pair of boxers before closing the window he left open. He sighs and stands in the middle of his room; there’s a woman in his bed, and he honestly can’t remember her name.

That doesn’t stop him from grabbing his sketchpad and drawing her as accurately as he can. It’s part of this thing he started about a year ago; he draws the people he sleeps with and then paints them later. He likes to call it ‘the people who’ve either fu'cked me or I’ve fu'cked’, but art galleries prefer to be more civil by calling it ‘sleepless nights’ or some shit.

Whatever, he gets paid, and that’s all that matters.

He’s surprised she doesn’t wake up in the hour it takes to draw her, but he can’t say he’s unhappy about it, either. Usually the women cry about ‘not being drawn pretty enough’, while the guys call him ‘gay’ even though they literally just fu'cked him (one of them thought they’d be funny by telling him to ‘draw them like one of his French girls’).

He pokes her twenty times and groans when she doesn’t wake up. He hates the heavy sleepers. He grabs the nearest book and drops it from his height so that it slams loudly against the floor. The woman doesn’t fail to shoot up from under the covers, eyes wide and afraid.

“Good, you’re awake,” Zayn says, smiling at the young woman who’s looking at Zayn with confusion, “I’m gonna hafta ask you to leave.”

Her jaw drops, and she glares at Zayn. “What happened to me being your ‘potential soulmate’?!”

That’s also another thing; there’s a perk to not owning a necklace. One of Zayn’s favorite pick-up lines is ‘hey, why don’t you come back to mine and see if we’re meant to be, potential soulmate’. It never failed; sure, it’s a bit of an asshole thing to do, fooling someone into thinking they’ve found their soulmate, but he doesn’t force them to believe it.

“Guess things didn’t work out, yeah?”

She scoffs and angrily gets up from his bed, throwing her clothes on. She makes sure to give Zayn a hard slap across his face before storming out of his apartment.

“Ouch,” Zayn grumbles, rubbing his cheek. That tends to happen a lot, too.

He smells one of his discarded white t-shirts and puts it on once he confirms it doesn’t smell too badly. His blue skinny jeans come on next before he shoves his feet into his black converse and heads out of the door.

He goes to the bathroom and runs a hand through his hair so that it remains on the right side of his head. He grabs his toothbrush and puts toothpaste on it before rushing out of his apartment, locking the door on the way out.

He heads down the flight of stairs while brushing his teeth and waves toward the eighty-year-old lady who lives underneath him (she always calls him Brad). He’s outside before he knows it, breathing in the warm, London air. He spits in a nearby plant, throws his toothbrush away, and continues his trek to visit his ‘favorite people’; they’re kind of forced to be his favorite since he doesn’t really know anyone else.

A man shoves him as he runs past him; he’s frantically looking around with his now-glowing heart piece in his hands. Ultimately, he’s disappointed when it stops shining, and he dramatically falls to his knees in despair.

That’s the difference between everyone else and Zayn, he doesn’t really care about the whole ‘soulmate’ business. As long as he gets laid, he’s happy.

He’s in front of Louis and Harry’s door before he knows it, barging in and taking a seat on the couch. Niall’s passed out on the floor, and he can only assume Louis and Harry are in the kitchen, hopefully making breakfast.

“Niall, Zayn, come eat food, you goddamn twats!” Louis shouts from the kitchen.

Sweet.

He kicks Niall’s back gently before heading to the kitchen and sitting down in front of a plate of waffles. Niall joins him moments later, grumbling about being ‘sleep deprived’.

Harry places a plate of waffles in the center for whoever wants more before kissing Louis’s cheek and sitting next to him.

“So who was it this time, Zayn?” Louis asks as he takes a sip from his coffee.

Zayn shrugs as he happily digs into his waffles; Harry’s food is always perfect. “Some chick, don’t quite remember her name,” he replies, mouth full.

Louis sighs and turns to look at Zayn. “Okay, Zayn, you’re twenty-four; aren’t you a bit worried you’ll die alone?”

“Oi, Niall doesn’t get shit for this; he’s still single.”

Niall burps loudly at the mention of his name and rubs his stomach. “Don’t bring me into this, ya cunt.”

“Fucking gross,” Louis complains, pinching his nose as Niall’s burp wafts throughout the kitchen. “Anyway, at least he’s trying! You’re not.”

“I mean… He doesn’t really have his necklace like Niall does, babe,” Harry defends Zayn, his first time speaking up since they've sat down.

“Yeah, but Zayn’s making a joke out of this whole thing; he’s literally fucking everyone—”

“I reckon I’m getting paid for that, mate, thank you very much.” He brings up the cup of tea to his lips. “Getting paid more than you,” he whispers.

“Oooooo,” Niall instigates. Zayn sucks at whispering.

Louis throws a piece of toast at Niall before glaring at Zayn. “Yet you come over here and eat all of our food. If you’re getting paid proper, then go buy your own food, ungrateful shit.”

“Oooo!” Niall exclaims louder, chewing on the toast Louis threw at him.

“Got me there, mate. What can I say? Harry’s got some magical hands. You of all people should know about that, eh, Loueh?” Zayn winks over at him and waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Louis’s face heats up, Niall bursts out laughing, and Harry chuckles. “Stop changing the subject!” Louis yells.

“It’s lonely in my flat; Niall doesn’t visit me.”

“Yer place smells like old people,” Niall responds as his hands get slapped away repeatedly from trying to pinch Harry’s nipples.

Louis shakes his head and sighs deeply. “That’s not the fucking subject I’m referring to.”

“What d’ya want from me?” Zayn groans. Twenty four isn’t even that old.

Louis places his hand on top of Zayn’s. “I want you to find someone and to be as happy as me and Haz are.”

“How do you propose I do that?” He points towards his neck that’s free from the same necklace everyone else has. “No necklace.”

“Dates, of course!” Louis shoots up from his chair and grabs his phone off of the counter and begins scrolling through it. “Lots and lots of them; I’m setting you up on a shit-ton of them.”

“I already do that.”

“No,” Louis argues, looking up from his phone. “What you do is fu'ck and go. Dating is sitting down and having an actual conversation with a human being over some food. Hm, maybe a movie instead since you’re shit at conversing with people.”

Zayn’s eyes widen. “So no fu'cking?”

“No fu'cking.”

“That’s a bit cruel, innit?” Harry frowns and looks over towards the love of his life (Harry is Zayn’s favorite).

“Life is cruel, Harold. I’m just giving good ol’ Zayn here a glimpse of reality.” Louis starts texting with a wide grin on his face.

Zayn looks over to Niall for some more back-up, but Niall merely shrugs his shoulders and continues playing a game on his phone. He sighs and narrows his eyes at Louis. “What if I say no?”

“Then you’re banned from my home. And I know damn well you don’t have any other friends, so you’ll be forced to live a lonely life,” Louis threatens as he puts his phone down.

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to live without my Harold and Nialler,” Zayn agrees.

“ _Hey,”_ Louis warns, glaring.

“What? You’re just the plus one I’m forced to deal with.” Zayn ducks when Louis throws the roll of paper towels at him.

Louis’s text alert goes off, and he’s quick to check his phone before he’s smirking at Zayn, an evil glint in his eye. “Be prepared for tomorrow night at 7, Zaynie. You’re going out with a lad named Josh.”

Fuck.


	3. The Second Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stuff happens

Zayn's eyebrows are furrowed, and his tongue is poking out as he concentrates on the canvas (that's nicely placed on his easel) he's currently painting on. His palette is in his left hand, the regular colors of the rainbow in their separate sections while the middle of the palette contains a combination of some of the colors to create its own intricate one. His brush is firmly grasped in his right hand, soft strokes to recreate the girl's black, flowing hair. He smiles at the finished painting, coming out exactly how he wanted it to.

His phone rings just in time, and he places his brush in the bucket that contains all of the different paint brushes he owns (Louis swears they're all the same, but like Zayn says, his 'thick skull doesn't let him understand art'). His palette is carefully placed aside on his dresser as he answers his cellphone.

"What?"

"Uhh..." It's the same man, Jeff, who purchases all of his paintings and puts them in an exhibit. "We've gotta talk, Mr. Malik."

Zayn grins and looks over at his neatly done painting. "Was just about to call ya, mate. I've just finished a painting."

"I'm gonna have to take out your exhibit. You see, people grow bored, Mr. Malik. They rarely go check your paintings out anymore. I'll buy your last one for the regular price, but that's it. I'm sorry," he says sincerely.

Zayn grips his phone tighter. "That doesn't make any fucking sense. I'm talented; you can't fucking deny that." There goes his income. He's going to become homeless, and then forced to go apologize to his father, which will only result in Yaser saying 'I told you so' followed by slamming the door in Zayn's face.

"I understand that, Mr. Malik. But as I've mentioned before, people grow tired of the same material. Unless you can conjure up something new in the next two weeks, I'm afraid we no longer have any business to do together," he explains, sincerity and pity in his voice. "Come by later, and I'll purchase that painting you've just finished; I'm only buying it because I genuinely enjoy your artwork. But that's it, Mr. Malik."

He hangs up before Zayn can reply, and it takes all of Zayn's willpower not to destroy every art supply he owns. He'd been painting the same material for over 2 years now; how could he possibly come up with something new? He's been playing it safe - sticking with the same art gallery and painting the same things - for so long that he's pretty sure he's lost his sense of creativity, and he's definitely lacking inspiration.

His text alert interrupts his thoughts, and he glances down at the text he's just received.

**_From - Loueh the loser:_ ** _dont forget bout tht date tonite Zaynie! ill be over to help you get ready :D x_

Great, now he's just remembered he's being forced to go on a blind date. He hasn't even been on a regular date since he was 16, fucking 16.

He covers his canvas and grabs his recently done painting and stomps out of his apartment complex. He heads down the familiar path to the art gallery that's near his apartment.

Once he's inside, he walks towards where his exhibit is being held and frowns as he watches two men take his paintings down one-by-one. Jeff was right; everyone in the building is avoiding his used-to-be popular exhibit and turning their attention to other, fresh paintings by new artists.

He's quick to head up the stairs into Jeff's office, give him his painting, snatch the check out of Jeff's grip, and exit the building, taking the walk of shame back to his apartment.

Louis's already in his room, searching for clothes, once he returns.

"Loueh," Zayn complains, falling onto his bed and burying himself under his covers. "I've just been fired; can't this date shit wait?"

"How do you get fired?" Louis questions while rummaging through his closet, tossing unworthy clothing aside. "Don't you just paint something, and they're like 'oh that's nice, let me give you a shitton of money for it'."

"They don't want my damn paintings anymore, want somethin' new or summat," he mumbles underneath the covers.

"So do something new?" Louis smiles widely once he finds Zayn's black, long-sleeved button up.

Zayn scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Easier said than done."

"Oooo, suspenders!" Louis exclaims, immediately getting up and searching through Zayn's drawer. He pulls out grey, attachable suspenders and then pulls out black, skinny jeans, grinning widely. "Yes! I'm a genius; go shower, smelly."

Zayn groans in response and remains buried beneath his layer of blankets. "No."

His covers are ripped off, and he's exposed to the cold draft and Louis's rage. "Get up, wanker. Before I call Niall and tell him to come eat all of your food."

"I haven't got any food. That's why I go over your place, imbecile," Zayn responds. He eyes the suspenders skeptically. "Aren't those yours?"

"I'm going to ignore that comment because I care about your well-being, Zaynie. And don't worry about that. That's a time in my life I'd rather forget, thank you." He climbs over Zayn onto his bed and then shoves him out of it; Zayn falling with a groan. "Go shower!"

So Zayn gets up, grabs the clothes, and goes to his bathroom to take a shower (not because Louis told him to, just because he really hasn't taken one yet, and his 'manly musk' is a little less than pleasant).

When he gets out about an hour later (his hair took up half of that time). Louis eyes him up and down before he claps and smirks. "I've nothing left to teach you."

"I haven't learned a thing from you."

Louis ignores him and starts shoving him towards the front door of his apartment. "It's 7:10; you're a bit late, but Josh is cool. So I reckon you'll be fine."

"Louis-"

Louis shushes him before pushing him out of the door and slamming it in his face. Zayn smacks his forehead and sighs. He knocks on the door, and he's soon face-to-face with a confused Louis. "You haven't told me where the hell to go."

"Oh, shit." His eyes widen in realization. "You know that little restaurant by the theatre?"

"Which theatre?"

"The one you live near, fucking hell. Go there; it's right across from it."

"Okay, get out of my flat now."

Louis huffs in disappointment and pouts as he leaves the flat. "You're lucky I've gotta get home to Haz."

Zayn rolls his eyes and locks the door; they go their separate ways as they get inside of their own cars (he swears he saw tears in Louis's eyes, the wimp). He drives to where Louis told him, and sure enough he finds the small restaurant. He parks and heads inside. It's not fancy enough to have a person asking for reservations, but it's nice nonetheless. He searches for a man with similar hair to Niall (at least that's how Louis described it, bleached hair with some of his actual hair color showing).

He's about to give up and sit by himself until he notices a guy with the same description practically hidden inside of a booth placed in the corner of the restaurant. He heads over there and sits in front of him, smirking once he realizes he's not half bad.

Josh blushes and reaches his hand out for a handshake. "Um. Hi. Wow, Louis said you'd be hot, but damn..."

Zayn winks and grabs his hand, bringing it up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. "You're not so bad yourself."

Josh's cheeks redden even more as he retracts his hand from Zayn's grip. He plays with his necklace, nervous. "I-I mean, I know we can't know for sure, b-but I guess we can try?"

Zayn nods; he already knows Josh isn't the one for him, but that doesn't mean he can't try and get laid tonight. You see, growing up without the necklace let Zayn rely mostly on his heart, something a lot of people lacked, putting all of their faith into their necklaces. He hasn't felt it yet, but he knows he'll feel  _something_  when he meets his soulmate. It'll be more than just attraction, something raw and beautiful. He's sure of it.

They order their food and eat, talking to each other about their interests, their past, and what they do.

"I run a music store with one of my best mates. His name's Liam; man's obsessed with this whole 'soulmate' business. Always searchin' 'round for 'the one'," Josh explains, taking a sip of his water.

Zayn smiles, listening intently. This Liam guy already sounds like someone Zayn would hate. It's one thing to be hopeful of finding them, but to always be on the lookout for them and to be completely brainwashed with a piece of jewelry is another. "I paint a bit on the side. Nothing major."

They talk a bit more, until Zayn's bored and realizes he wants to move this along. He places his hand on Josh's thigh underneath the table and smirks when Josh's eyes widen and drops his fork. He leans forward a bit. "Why don't we go have some real fun, yeah? See if we're really meant to be," he whispers, his hand slowly moving up Josh's thigh while he licks his lips.

Josh's breath hitches, and he mindlessly nods his head, entranced by Zayn's hazel eyes.

 

Zayn realizes he needs to text Louis saying he won once he and Josh are making out heavily, walking down the hallway of Zayn's apartment complex. It's in the bag once he slips his tongue inside Josh's mouth, and Josh lets out a breathy moan. He pulls away and hastily takes out his keys to unlock his door. Josh immediately attaches his mouth to Zayn's neck and begins kissing every inch of skin available.

He pushes the door open and is about to kiss Josh again, but Josh pushes past him, his necklace glowing.

What?

His heart charm is in his hands, and he's staring at it, confused. "I thought you said-" He stops when he looks up and notices a blond standing in the middle of the living room, looking at him intently with his own charm shining brightly.

They slowly walk closer to one another until their necklaces come together like magnets and create a heart, their pieces turning red.

It's silent; both of them trying to register what happened as they stare at each other.

"Major cockblock, Horan!" Zayn exclaims, breaking the silence.

Niall turns to look at Zayn and shrugs. "I-I didn't know this would happen, ya know!"

"How the fuck did you even get in here?!" Zayn slides against the wall until he's sat on the floor. He's definitely not getting any tonight.

"I have my ways, Zaynie. Loueh told me t' guard the flat incase ya decided to get some." He looks back at Josh. "M'glad he did..."

Josh smiles and reaches for Niall's hand, encasing it in his own. "D'you wanna... I don't know. Get coffee or somethin'?"

Niall nods wordlessly, and they both leave without another word.

Zayn takes his phone out and texts Louis.

**_To - Loueh the loser:_ ** _so turns out josh was someones soulmate, just not mine. you tried. our little Nialler is no longer single._

**_From - Loueh the loser:_ ** _HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA_


	4. The Third Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn meets Liam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been MIA for quite a while now, some months. I lost my flash drive which contained all of my work, and in turn, made me lose all motivation to write. I found it a few weeks ago and haven't been able to bring myself to write until now, but the want to write has always been there. I didn't find it necessary to update you all on it, which I apologize for. Anyway, I'm sorry you had to wait so long. I don't know about my other stories, but I know I had inspiration to write a chapter for this one. So, yeah, sorry if it sucks. I haven't written in about 5 months, so I'm a bit rusty. I'm really sorry if it sucks. Enjoy my beautiful readers x.
> 
>  
> 
> P.S - If you could comment what you think of this story and if you like it/still like it, it'd be very appreciated. Lord knows I need the self-esteem boost...

Zayn has always hated being the third wheel, especially when it came to Louis and Harry. You’d think after s _even_ years their affections towards one another would be… _less_ vomit inducing, at least, but the amount of times Zayn internally gags has remained the same every time he’s forced to “hang out” (when, really, they just want to go on a date and make Zayn suffer) with the duo, as he sits through the many ‘Eskimo kisses’ and loving glances. And God forbid Zayn turns his back for a mere second, then Harry and Louis really have at it, nearly ripping each other’s faces off (gross).

However, Zayn realizes that things might be a bit different now, as he now watches, not one, but _two_ couples completely ignore him for their significant other. So now he’s not a third wheel, but a… what would it be? Fifth wheel? Is that even a thing? It’s a thing now, Zayn’s living it.

Niall and Josh, who are now a couple and are currently in the ‘honeymoon stage’ of their relationship, are whispering in each other’s ears and giggling every other fucking second; Harry and Louis, who have been a couple since the dawn of time and are currently in the never-ending ‘honeymoon stage’ of their relationship, are… well… Louis’s teaching the lanky giant that is Harry Styles how to bowl, even though the sap has beaten all of them countless times, and Harry’s asking for help every goddamn time he’s about to do something (the man asked Louis how to sit in his chair for Christ’s sake).

And Zayn, kind-hearted, artistic, and a loving member of his community who doesn’t deserve any bit of this torture, Zayn, he just finished slurping his water rather loudly, and now… Well now…

He really wants to go home.

“Why in the bloody fuck did you lot invite me?” He grumbles loudly, an attempt to make his presence known.

“Because you’re our friend, you miserable twat,” Louis voices as he wraps his arms around Harry and teaches him how to roll the ball (for the twentieth time in a single hour).

Zayn scoffs and rolls his eyes, “I’m not miserable; at least, not when I’m not around you fucks.”

“You didn’t seem so miserable when you were trying to get into my pants,” Josh retorts; who invited him again?

Zayn directs his attention to Niall. “Control your boyfriend.”

“Yeh, Joshie, let’s not bring that up. Don’t fancy thinkin’ ‘bout how the first time I met ya, you were try t’ fuck one of me best mates.” Niall shudders in disgust, having flashbacks of Zayn and Josh making out.

“It’s not his fault; not a lot of people can resist the Malik charm,” Zayn says as he brushes the invisible dust off of his shoulders and winks.

“That’s why you’re single and we’re not,” Louis bites back, smirking as Harry lets out a soft chuckle.

“Fuck you.”

Harry actually moves away from Louis for once and walks over to their table, sitting next to Zayn and wrapping an arm around him as he rubs Zayn’s arm soothingly. “Don’t worry, Zaynie, you’ll find the one meant for you soon. You have a bit of a handicap without that necklace, but true love isn’t defined by a piece of jewelry. In fact, none of us love the other because of this silly necklace, but because of this.” He moves his hand and points to the left side of Zayn’s chest.

Louis raises his eyebrow. “A ketchup stain?”

“Boob?” Niall adds.

“I have a ketchup stain?” Zayn quickly examines his shirt, which he immediately regrets as soon as he hears Louis’s fast footsteps then feels Louis’s finger flick his face. He didn’t even have any ketchup, the stupid fuck.

Harry frowns and crosses his arms in disappointment. “That speech was supposed to touch your hearts and lift your spirits. “

Josh’s sniffling interrupted Harry’s pout as he immediately looked over at the brunet and smiled at Josh’s teary eyes. “Love is so beautiful, thank you, Harry,” Josh mumbles as he dabs away the few tears trapped in the corners of his eyes.

“Oh, babe,” Niall sighs happily as he engulfs Josh in tight hug. “That speech was terrible, and ya know it.”

Harry huffs in frustration and leans forward to pinch Niall’s arm.

Niall glares before pinching back, a pinch war between Harry and Niall has erupted.

Josh’s phone goes off (Harry and Niall choose to ignore it), and Zayn and Louis watch – because they’re nosy as fuck – as Josh becomes confused, annoyed, and then distressed within a four minute phone call. He hangs up and sighs, immediately catching Niall’s attention.

“Babe?”

“Have to head on over to the music store; my mate says they messed up our order. I love hanging out with you guys, but I have to go.” Josh pouts and hangs his head in sadness.

Niall almost winces at his lover being in deep distraught before he jumps out of his seat. “We’ll go with ya, try t’ help as much as we can, yeah?”

Josh grins and kisses Niall softly. “That’s not a bad idea; we could use some muscle to help carry some boxes and such.

“Wait, I didn’t sign up for manual labor.”

“Same, Zayn,” Louis responds.

But their shouts of protest seem to be ignored as Niall and Josh leave the bowling alley and Harry grabs a hold of both of their hands, dragging them to the exit.

 

**********************************

 

The music store is fairly small; Zayn would’ve missed it had he been driving, but he carpooled because he refuses to waste gas on being a fifth wheel (it’s a thing). There’s a moving truck that’s practically blocking the view and shouting can be heard on the other side.

They all rush out of the tightly packed car (Niall touched his thigh one too many times for his liking, curse Louis’s clown car) and head to the front of the store, where the people arguing can actually be seen.

There’s a man with a hat, khaki shorts, and a polo motioning angrily to a clipboard being held in his hands, and the other man arguing is….

Holy crap, he’s gorgeous.

Zayn stops in his tracks as the others approach this mysterious fellow. He examines the brown hair peeking out of his snapback and the plaid shirt that’s hugging those huge biceps so deliciously; Zayn wants to touch them and lick them (he also wants posters of the beautifully sculpted muscles so he can scatter them all over his room like a boy-band obsessed teen). Not to mention the black skinny jeans that are completely in this beautiful man’s favor, Jesus _that ass_.

Zayn has to stop himself from licking his lip hungrily like a starved wolf (and from sporting a boner because _damn_ ).

“Does this look like a coffee shop to you?!” He exclaims loudly.

 _‘God,’_ Zayn thinks, ‘ _That voice… I wouldn’t mind hearing those husky moans as he—“_

“I’m just trying to finish the job, mate. Sign it!” The man explains, clenching his jaw in aggravation.

Curse him for interrupting Zayn’s dirty thoughts.

Josh comes between them and signs the clipboard, apologizing to the trucker before the trucker climbs into the moving truck and promptly exits, leaving the load of boxes on the sidewalk.

“Josh, what the hell?! This shipment is literally 50% records and 50% coffee bags!” Greek God exclaims, motioning towards the load of boxes beside him.

“We’ll figure something out, don’t worry, Liam.” Josh smiles reassuringly and pats his friend on the shoulder.

 _Liam_ , his name…

Liam sighs, a small smile makes his way on his face at his friend’s words. “You’re right, I guess.” He turns towards the rest of the group and rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry you had to see that, lads. Been a bit of a rough week.”

“Not a problem. Ya must be Josh’s best mate, m’Niall, his boyfriend.” Niall reaches his hand out for a shake, but squeaks in surprise as Liam hugs him tightly.

“I’ve been dying to meet you since you two met,” Liam says, patting Niall on the back before pulling away from the hug and smiling. “Josh has told me all about you.”

“Good things, I hope,” Niall mumbles, while grinning widely.

Liam nods before turning to Louis and Harry, hugging them both at the same time, still adorning his gorgeous smile.

“Sorry, lads,” Josh begins, “He’s a bit of a hugger.”

“No problem at all,” Louis says, escaping the hug, he motions towards himself and Harry. “I’m Louis, and this is my soulmate, Harry.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Liam replies before turning to Zayn.

Zayn doesn’t know if he can handle a hug.

Except, the smile completely wipes away as Liam examines Zayn, and fuck, Zayn has never felt so shy about someone checking him out like this before.

He’s surprised, to say the least, when Liam shakes his head out of his thoughts and reaches out for a handshake.

It hurts a bit, but Zayn chooses to smile slightly before shaking his hand in return.

“Liam.”

“I’m uhh…” Zayn completely blanks out; all he can think about is how soft Liam’s hands are, and how they seem to be a bit bigger than Zayn’s and seem to fit perfectly with his own. “Um…”

Louis raises his eyebrow before smacking the back of Zayn’s head. “He’s Zayn, and he’s a bit retarded, don’t mind him.”

Liam plasters on a fake smile before quickly releasing his hold on Zayn’s hand. He heads back over to the boxes and rubs his hands together. “Let’s unload all this, yeah?”

 

It takes three frustratingly long hours to unload all of the boxes and set aside all of the coffee supplies. Zayn barely helped because he couldn’t seem to stop watching Liam. His mind has been consumed with Liam, Liam, Liam.

They’re resting in the empty store, and Liam’s off in a corner organizing the Pop section.

Zayn heads over, planning on making a move on Liam. But he completely freezes up once he gains Liam’s attention.

“Yes?” Liam says, raising his eyebrow.

‘ _Tell him you could be ‘the one’, just fucking tell him,’_ Zayn thinks.

“Um…” Zayn trails off again, a new feeling completely overriding his brain; why was he so fucking nervous?

His encounters with his one-night stands always went to same. He’d charm them, they’d have sex, and they’d leave angrily the morning after once Zayn wants nothing to do with them. But why couldn’t he bring himself to do the same with Liam? Why did his knees feel weak and his stomach feel weird?

“I… u-uhh…” Zayn stutters, something he hasn’t done since he was six.

Silence ensues between them and Zayn can barely look Liam in the eye. He’s tongue-tied, for the first time in his life.

Liam checks his phone. “I gotta head out,” he says while keeping his gaze on his phone.

He moves past Zayn as if he wasn’t there and heads towards the door. “Gotta leave, lads! Hopefully we can hang out sometime!”

Shouts of ‘yes’ and ‘goodbye’ are heard as Liam leaves the shop, leaving Josh to close up.

Zayn has his gaze where Liam once was and can’t help but feel… Sad? Liam acted so cold with him compared to how he was with the rest of the group. But with that sadness came something else residing deep within his chest, something warm and soft. He places his hand over the left side of his chest, wishing the weird feeling would go away.

But it doesn’t, it stays, and Zayn doesn’t like it.

Doesn’t like it at all.


	5. The Fourth Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn gets a job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, hope you enjoy, excuse my sucky writing x

It’s ten o’clock in the morning, and Zayn hasn’t slept at all. Paintings are scattered all throughout his room as he sits back, admiring the one he has just finished. He’s inspecting every one and can’t help but notice they all have something in common: they’re all  _Liam._

Different aspects of Liam take up each painting, from his soft, brown eyes, to a side view of his face that shows his sharp jawline (something Zayn’s been dying to run his hands all over), and he even finds a painting of his hands, rough and inviting.

He hears the door to his room open, and he prays it isn’t Louis (he would never hear the end of it, if it were).

“Hey, Zay—Whoa.”

Oh, good, Harry.

“I’m absolutely mad, aren’t I?” Zayn sheepishly asks, refusing to meet Harry’s eyes.

Harry’s eyes wander around, taking in each painting before he rests them on Zayn. “Well… That’s one way to phrase it.”

Zayn groans and covers his sleep-deprived eyes. “I can’t get him out of my head, Haz. This has never happened to me before.”

Harry smiles as he sits on Zayn’s bed and pats the spot next to him, watching intently as Zayn gets up and sits next to him. “You really like him, huh?”

“Yes – no – I don’t know. I’m confused, is all.” Zayn licks his lip as he thinks this through, he turns to look at Harry. “Just because I’m asking this, doesn’t mean it has anything to do with whatever this thing with Liam is, alright?”

“Fair enough.”

“Is… Is there anything, besides the necklace, that makes you really sure that Louis’s your soulmate? Anything in here?” Zayn finishes asking, as he points to where his heart should be.

“Hmm…” Harry’s eyes drift away from Zayn as he ponders the question. His eyes light up and he immediately smiles as he begins to speak, “Oh, it’s such a wonderful feeling, Zee. There’s a reason the pieces are separated because you really do feel whole once you meet them, as corny as that sounds. I was young when I met Louis – you know that – and it all confused me so much, but all that I could think when I first saw him was ‘yeah, this feels right; this makes sense’. I can’t describe it to make you understand it, Zee, but… All I know is if the world were to be ending today, and all I had was Louis next to me to stare into those blue eyes I love so much, then I’d be perfectly wonderful; there wouldn’t be anything else I wanted more than for him to be with me on my last minutes on Earth.”

“Cheesy, mate. Gross.”

Harry chuckles and pushes Zayn playfully. “You asked, Zaynie.” His playful gaze turns serious as he continues, “You don’t think about it, Zayn. You feel it.”

Zayn nods his head, as he continues to think about his recent obsession with Liam, ignoring Harry’s advice. He tugs the ends of his hair, almost punishing himself for letting the whole Liam thing get this far. “Okay, enough of that.” He gets up and grabs a set of clothes and heads to his bathroom, leaving Harry to go through his things (even though Zayn has told him a billion times to ‘put that  _down_ ’).

His eyes widen as he spits out his toothpaste. “Hey, Harry!” he calls from the bathroom.

Harry grunts in response.

Zayn rolls his eyes as he hears the opening and closing of his drawers. “Can we keep this between us? I don’t want Louis to know about this conversation.”

“Too late! I texted him.”

“Of course…” Zayn mumbles to himself as he pulls on his clothes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zayn’s once again the fifth wheel as they’ve all gathered together to get something to eat. Niall and Josh are in their own little world, and Louis, for once, is staring at Zayn, almost begging him to talk about what Harry told him.

Zayn shakes his head. Louis pouts, almost saying ‘ _please’_.

Zayn shakes his head again, giving Louis the finger.

They all just about finished when the waiter brings the bill. They take out their wallets, and Zayn can’t help but notice his wallet feels particularly light; he opens it and…

Holy shit, it’s empty.

His cheeks flush in embarrassment, never having this happen to him. “Oi, umm…”

They all turn their attention to Zayn and he can’t help but feel his face redden even more. He rubs the back of his head. “I… uh… I don’t have any money. M’sorry.”

Niall laughs. “Zayn’s the new Louis of the group. That’s hilarious, mate.”

Louis glares and kicks Niall’s shin underneath the table.

“Ow! Why’d ya go and do that for?!” Niall pouts and disappears under the table, no doubt to rub his shin.

Harry takes out enough money for the three of them (Louis didn’t bring any money, surprise), smiling at Zayn. “It’s alright, Zee. I owe you anyway.”

Guilt settles inside Zayn as he takes his friend’s money; he knows for a fact Harry doesn’t owe him anything, but he’s forced to take the kind gesture. He doesn’t have anything left. “Thanks, Haz.”

“You know,” Josh starts, gaining Zayn’s attention, “I could hook you up with a job at the music shop. Ryan just quit, said something about auditioning for the X-Factor or summat.”

Louis immediately smiles a creepy, mischievous smile; the smile he adorns whenever something seems to be going his way.

Zayn ignores it and focuses on Josh. “Thanks, but you really don’t have to—”

“He’ll take it!” Louis suddenly exclaims, slamming his hands down on the table for dramatic effect as soon as Niall resurfaces from being under the table.

“I don’t—”

“Really, Zee? Do you want to end up on the streets? You know Fernando doesn’t accept rent late, and one strike is enough,” Louis reminds him.

“You know the man that owns Zayn’s building?” Harry asks incredulously.

Louis merely shrugs.

 

And so Zayn finds himself entering the music store he swore he’d never visit again, following a determined Josh as Louis, Harry, and Niall scatter to see if anything new came in.

Liam comes out from the back and smiles once he sees Josh. “Oi! Josh, what’s up?”

Josh smiles sheepishly as he looks over at Zayn then back to Liam. “Hey, um… I’ve found us a new hire!”

Liam’s smile instantly drops, and he stares at Josh, glaring. “Can I talk to you in the back?”

Josh sighs before following Liam into the room, shutting the door behind him. Zayn tries to block out the sound of Liam and Josh yelling, pretending it doesn’t hurt that Liam’s putting up this much of a fight over Zayn working with him.

Ultimately, a smiley Josh and a defeated Liam both exit the back room. “You’re hired!” Josh exclaims, as he embraces Zayn in a tight hug.

Liam merely mumbles a ‘welcome’ and offers Zayn a handshake.

“Well, Liam, show him the ropes and let him work today for a few hours. I’ve got to go put in a new inventory order, so I’ll be back tomorrow. Sound good?” Josh asks.

He ignores Liam’s ‘no’ and leaves the store, hand-in-hand with Niall, leaving Liam, Zayn, Harry, and Louis alone.

Louis seems to notice, as the same mischievous smile appears on his face yet again. “Liam! Nice seeing you again, mate. We’ve got to go, though. Harry left the stove on.”

“I did?”

“Yes,” Louis snaps, giving Harry a glare. He whispers something in Harry’s ear that has his eyes blowing wide in realization.

“Oh, right, I guess I did? Well, bye, Zayn,” Harry says as he and Louis hug Zayn and then hug Liam. “Cya, Liam.”

“Have fun!” Louis shouts before hurrying out of the store, dragging a reluctant Harry along the way.

It remains quiet between the two; Zayn’s looking around the shop, wondering what he’s supposed to do, and Liam looks like he’s in deep thought about something.

He looks over at Liam once he hears him sigh. “I guess I’ll show you how to use the register and where everything goes,” Liam mumbles, before walking over to the many different record and CD sections, Zayn following behind. “As you can tell, everything’s placed in alphabetical order by the artist’s name. The boxes usually tell you what genre of music it is, in case you don’t know. Records are separated from CD’s, obviously. You already know what to do once inventory comes in, which is good. We dust and clean shelves every night before closing, and the register is pretty straight forward.”

Liam picks an item and brings it to the register. “You scan it,” he says, scanning the item, “Then the price will show up; once that happens, you hit close, take the money and put in how much, hit close again, and give them the change. Sound simple enough?”

Zayn nods his head. “Good,” Liam replies. “You’ll stay on register while I count everything and send the numbers to Josh.”

As the day drags on, Zayn only messing up a few times, Zayn can’t help but notice every time a customer walks in, Liam immediately clutches his necklace and glances at it, hoping to find his soulmate.

Once it happens for the twenty-fifth time that day (Zayn counted), Zayn musters up the courage to say something about it. “You don’t have to keep looking at it, m’sure you’ll notice… It’ll glow really bright, or summat.”

Liam looks over skeptically at Zayn. “How would you know? You found your soulmate?”

Zayn shakes his head. “Was there to witness three of my best mates find theirs; it’s all the same.”

“Of course…” Liam mumbles.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Silence ensues between them once again. Zayn looks around, not a customer in sight. He sighs and stares at the counter, avoiding Liam’s gaze. “Why do you hate me?”

Liam immediately looks up from his clipboard towards Zayn, his gaze softening. “What? I don’t hate you.”

“Is strongly dislike better?” Zayn mutters, fixating his gaze on the counter, feeling Liam’s gaze on him and not looking up once.

He hears Liam coming closer, and instantly smells the wonderful smell that’s Liam’s cologne mixed with something else. It makes Zayn’s head spin.

“I’m sorry I’ve made you feel that way… I haven’t been very fair to you, have I?” Liam sighs and grabs a gentle hold of Zayn’s chin, lifting it up so that he’s staring straight into Zayn’s hazel eyes. He immediately blushes and let’s go of his chin, once he sees Zayn’s eyes blow wide from shock. He clears his throat and rubs the back of his head. “I just can’t help but notice you don’t have a necklace. Like you think you’re too good to find your soulmate and assume people like me are idiots.”

Zayn chuckles (okay maybe he did think Liam was a bit stupid when Josh told him about him, but he doesn’t need to know that because wow, he’s incredibly cute). “I don’t have a necklace because I lost mine when I was in secondary school. I was about thirteen. And I get it; people crave the happiness that goes along with finding your soulmate. Honestly… I just wish they’d use their heart more than an object, but that might be because I’m bitter about not having my necklace.” Zayn shrugs.

Liam nods his head, even cracking a smile. “I guess I got you all wrong then, didn’t I?”

“I guess so. Guess this means we have to get to know each other a little better,” Zayn suggests, smiling wide once Liam agrees. “Anything else that might've made you feel uneasy around me?” Zayn shyly asks.

“Honest?”

Zayn nods his head.

“Don’t freak out or anything… But you… Y-You make me feel weird,” Liam admits, blushing immensely once he gets the words out.

Zayn feels his face grow warm, too. He coughs, clearing his throat before asking, “G-Good weird…? Or uh… Bad weird?”

“Good, confusing weird? I haven’t figured it out yet.”

An awkward silence fills the air, before Liam breaks it by divulging into stories about himself, his ambitions, and his childhood. Zayn laughs along, hearing about the time Liam cried for three hours straight when he dropped his necklace in his soup because he thought it was broken for good.

And all the while Zayn can’t help but think if the world were ending right now, he’d be perfectly okay where he is, too.


	6. The Fifth Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis has a bit of a 'get together'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a lot of texting bits in here, sorry about that.
> 
> And sorry if this chapter completely disappoints all of you with its trashiness.

**_17:21 From: Lee-yum :) x_ **

_u lyk batman 2 ?! i dresed as him 4 halowen last yr ! pain in the arse 2 tke a piss ! suit was way 2 hot , sweated lyk crazeh !_

Zayn smiles to himself as he reads the text over, typing away instantly. Liam and Zayn had become fast friends all within the course of three days; they had been texting each other all day.

**_17:21 To: Lee-yum :) x_ **

_no way ! pics or it didnt happen !_

“So what’s got you all smiley?”

His eyes leave his phone and fall on Louis, who’s standing a few feet away from him with his arms crossed and a suspicious eyebrow raised. He puts his phone down on the table and rubs the back of his head nervously. “Nothing, just… Looking at some funny photos s’all,” Zayn lies.

It’s a staring contest between the two, as Louis inspects Zayn’s face for any sign that he’s lying and Zayn tries his hardest to remain cool and collected; ten seconds later, his phone vibrates which gains Louis’s full attention. He’s slow to react as Louis dives forward, nearly breaking the table, and snatches the phone.

Louis keeps the phone out of reach and continues to shove Zayn away as he tries to take his phone back. His blue eyes roam over the text over and over again, his grin widening. “Pics of the bat suit,” Louis reads, “Or pics of my sweaty body,  _ha-ha_? Oh my god. There’s even a winky face!”

Zayn’s face immediately heats up, still attempting to grab his phone. “No way in hell does it say that!”

Louis shrugs and throws it to Zayn, Zayn catching it with ease. His eyes scan the text, and he tugs on the collar of his shirt (suddenly feeling hot) once Louis’s words are confirmed. Sure enough, those were Liam’s exact words.

Louis sits on his arm-chair as if it were a throne, almost in a triumphant position. “Haz told me about your twenty paintings of Liam, you know? You can’t hide from me, Zaynie, dear.”

“There were only, like, eleven,” Zayn argues, merely confirming Louis’s suspicions.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Twenty was… Wow. But eleven? That’s not saying ‘I’m obsessed with you’ at all,” Louis says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “What’d you do with them, anyway? Make a small shrine?”

“Just… Threw them out. What’s with the twenty questions?” Zayn’s vibrating phone immediately catches his attention again.

**_17:34 From: Lee-yum :) x_ **

_srry did tht freak u out ? only jokin m8. i do hve pics tho_

“Oh, is that from Lee- _Yum_?” Louis asks, adding emphasis on the ‘yum’ that Zayn thought was clever when Liam gave him his number; he regrets it now.

“Shut up.” His phone vibrates again.

**_17:34 From: Lee-yum :) x_ **

_of the bat suit ! not lyk i tke pics of my swety body or anythin…_

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Louis shouts, getting up and snatching Zayn’s phone right out of his hands. He’s typing away hurriedly before Zayn gets a chance to protest. Louis’s fingers are quick to send the message before he’s handing Zayn his phone again. “You’re welcome.”

Zayn reads the message and he internally groans.

**_17:35 To: Lee-yum :) x_ **

_hey we’re havin a bit of a get together. u should come yeah? its @ harrys and louis (the wonderful) house. u remember how to get here rite?_

“Get together? Are you serious? Does Harry even know about this ‘get together’?” Zayn questions incredulously.

“No,” Louis merely replies. He hurriedly runs to the kitchen and comes back within a minute or two. “But now he does! What’s the big deal? You hang out for a bit, maybe flirt, or fall in love. I don’t know.”

Zayn rubs his eyes and sighs. “I’ve never hung out with him outside of work before. What if I’m a complete and utter twat around him?”

“Oh, Zayn, you’re always a complete twat,” Louis says with sincerity, reaching over and patting Zayn’s back. “But hey, he seems to like you anyway.”

The black-haired male rolls his eyes and shrugs Louis’s hand off of him. His phone vibrates yet again, and Louis can’t help but look over Zayn’s shoulder as he, too, reads Liam’s reply with anxiousness.

**_17:39 From: Lee-yum :) x_ **

_yeah.. tht wud be gr8 :)_

“Score!” Louis yells excitedly, quickly running to the kitchen (no doubt to tell Harry).

Oh, boy…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Louis’s ‘get together’ is in full swing, and Zayn’s surprised to see so many people considering the event was planned last minute. Music is blaring from Harry’s old speakers, and people seem to be having a good time. Zayn sees a very anxious Louis running around and greeting guests before coming up to him and grinning wildly. “Update from Niall: Josh and Liam are almost here!” Zayn almost responds, but Louis’s head snaps over to the kitchen. “Dammit, Sam, stop eating all the fucking snacks! Those are for  _everyone_!” Louis shouts as he scurries over to Sam.

Louis and Harry’s front door opens, and Zayn inwardly cringes at how excited he gets from seeing Liam’s beautiful face, and goddamn he looks  _good_ with his white v-neck and tight blazer, holy biceps. Josh seems to already know where to go as his eyes set on Niall and he hurriedly makes his way over to him, embracing him in a tight hug.

Liam, however, looks lost as he stands alone in the middle of the entrance. Zayn shyly waves his hand, barely putting effort into getting Liam to notice him, but somehow, Liam does. He smiles brightly at the familiar face and heads over to Zayn, taking a seat next to him on the couch.

“Nice party, innit?” Liam asks, being the first to speak.

Zayn shrugs. “Not really, no. Maybe it’ll be better now that you’re here, though,” Zayn sheepishly adds.

Liam’s cheeks become a light pink before he clears his throat. “Was a bit surprised when you invited me, didn’t expect it.”

“Yeah… Uh—”

“You don’t have to explain,” Liam interrupts, “I know it was Louis.”

Zayn raises his eyebrow questioningly. “Really? How’d you figure that?”

“Well, I’ve only known you lot for a few days, but it was a bit shocking to see you call Louis ‘wonderful’ when the nicest thing you’ve ever said to him, as far as I’ve been around, was ‘you’re still an imbecile, but maybe not as big of an imbecile as I thought’, I believe,” Liam chuckles.

Zayn can’t help but laugh with him. “You’ve gotten to know us rather well, yeah?”

“Don’t have a choice; Josh ditched me for you lot. It’s either you lads or be alone.”

“Glad to know you’re excited to be a part of our group now,” Zayn mentions sarcastically, a small smile on his face.

The night drags on, and Niall occasionally comes over to offer beer, which Liam takes and Zayn refuses (he tends to be a bit of a light weight, and it’s way too early for Liam to meet drunk Zayn). There are only a few people left by the time it hits three in the morning. Liam’s tipsy, and Louis’s passed out on the couch, blanket (from Harry, no doubt) wrapped around him tight. Niall’s playing the guitar softly, and Josh stares at him while he does so, completely smitten.

Liam giggles quietly while talking. “So, so then Josh goes… He goes… Oh, crap what was I saying again?”

Zayn chuckles, not quite knowing what Liam was saying either; Liam's lips are incredibly enticing. He feels giddy when he thinks about the fact that Liam stuck with him the entire night. He grabs Liam’s drink and takes it away from him. “I think you’ve had quite enough, yeah?”

Liam scoffs and rolls his eyes, reaching for the drink. “M’fine, Zee. I’ve only had a few.”

He doesn’t know how it happens, but all Zayn knows is that the drink is now spilled on the floor, forgotten, and his wrists are in Liam’s strong hold, preventing him from moving. They’re both laughing, until they both notice how close their faces have gotten, then a heavy silence falls between them. Zayn’s scanning over Liam’s brown eyes before they fall on his lips. Liam, himself, seems to be in a daze as he stares at Zayn.

Liam must’ve known what was about to happen as he pulls his hands away from Zayn and shakes his head out of the trance-like state he had been in. “Well…” Liam says awkwardly; he turns his head away from Zayn, unable to look in Zayn’s eyes.

And something comes over Zayn, this unbelievable urge to kiss Liam surges right through him. He cups Liam’s cheek and turns his head so he’s facing Zayn again; he leans in, his mind pleading with him to stop, but his heart egging him on. His lips touch Liam’s, and he’s everything he had hoped for and more; his chest tightens, and everything feels so  _right._

An instinct seems to course through Liam as his eyes close and his hand finds its way to the back of Zayn’s head, gripping his hair and pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.

It all feels surreal, and reality crashes down on him as Liam pulls away and hastily stands up, eyes widened, like a deer caught in headlights. “No, that… No, that can’t happen. It  _can’t_.” Liam says, almost trying to convince himself rather than Zayn.

“Liam, I—”

“No,” Liam repeats; he’s looking around for an escape. “I have to go.” Zayn watches him as he heads on over to Josh and pulls him away from Niall, eyes screaming that he’ll explain later. Josh kisses Niall gently before he follows Liam to the doorway.

Liam looks back at Zayn only once; he shakes his head and leaves without a second thought.

Zayn touches his lips while his heart beats rapidly. How can someone have this sort of effect on him? One minute he’s happy and complete, the next empty and afraid.

 _God_ , he’s afraid.

_‘Please don’t let it be him’._

_‘Please’._

 


	7. The Sixth Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> zayn and liam work something out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this probably sucks, sorry its been so long. Sorry if you hate it ): ik it suckss but ive tried and edited it thousands of times and idk. Comment if you liked it x.

"Harry!"

Zayn startles awake at the loudness of Louis's voice. He looks around and takes in his surroundings, noticing he's still at Harry and Louis's place, never leaving his spot from last night. Niall's on the floor not much further from him, asleep and not even fazed by Louis's yelling. The house is a mess as far as Zayn can tell, empty plastic cups and plates surround the place.

Louis emerges from the hallway and enters the living room, blue eyes casting over to Zayn. "How are you holding up, Zee?" he asks gently, walking over and placing a hand on Zayn's shoulder.

Zayn rolls his eyes and slaps his hand away. "Calm down, Lou. S'not like my cat died or summat."

"But you got rejected—"

"Louis! Come help me for a second!"

Louis sighs and begrudgingly heads to the kitchen to help Harry out.

The raven-haired male takes the Louis-free moment to call Liam (again, for the tenth time). He eagerly waits as his phone dials Liam.

_'Hello, this is Liam James Payne- oh crud, maybe I shouldn't have given you my full name—'_

Zayn ends the call and places his phone back in his pocket, groaning loud enough to wake Niall up.

"Wha?" Niall mumbles, eyes squinting and looking around the living room as if it were a foreign place.

"Even when you've found your soul mate, you're still waking up in the middle of Lou and Harry's living room, yeah?"

Niall shuts his eyes and grips his head in pain. "Keep it down, will you? I've a massive headache." He rolls over on to his back and adds, "Where's my Joshie?" as an afterthought.

And even though Zayn loves Niall to death, he can't help but feel a little agitated with the Irish blond. He wants to say it's because the both of them had been single for the longest time, and now Zayn was forced to be single alone, but he knows it's because he's envious of the fact that Niall has actually found a soul mate, while Zayn never could, or will be able to.

And he's not sure why he's feeling this way, he's never cared much about it to begin with, but after meeting Liam, his perspective on the matter has completely changed. Zayn's never felt more connected with someone in his entire life, and now he craves for that connection; he absolutely needs it.

 _But he's not my soul mate,_ he thinks to himself sourly.

He can't say he doesn't know why he refuses to see Liam as a soul mate because he knows _exactly_ why. He's never desired a soul mate, and now that he's even thinking about someone _being_ his soul mate... Well...

It scares the shit out of him.

He heads into the kitchen to distract himself from the fear inducing thoughts and is quite surprised to see Harry and Louis fighting.

"Just leave him alone, will you?" Harry mumbles, something he only does when he's trying not to let his anger get the best of him.

"He's a grown man, Harry! He should've settled down by now! Liam obviously isn't going to work out, so the only thing he needs is to date _more_ people!" Louis shouts. Zayn's a little frightened by the fact that Louis and Harry are on opposite sides of the room when the two can barely keep their hands off of each other.

"Exactly, he's a grown man; he can do whatever he wants—"

"All right?" Zayn interrupts.

Both of them stop what they're doing and look directly at Zayn. Louis plasters on a fake smile and pats Zayn on the back. "Just a little debate about something. Nothing we can't fix, really."

"Yeah," Harry agrees. "We're fine, don't worry." He moves back over to the stove and begins cooking.

An awkward silence fills the air as Louis sets the table and Harry cooks while Zayn stands in the doorway.

"I need a light," Zayn says aloud, breaking the silence. Neither of them look up from what they're doing, so Zayn takes that as his cue to leave.

He walks outside, fishing a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He places one in his mouth and is about to light it, until two people bump into him, forcing him to accidentally drop the cigarette on to the concrete floor.

"I'm so glad I finally found you," the man cries, picking up the woman and swinging her around in his arms.

The woman squeals in delight and clutches on to her necklace tightly. "It's because of this. I'm so _happy_."

Before Zayn can let his current frustration control him, he walks away from the couple and goes across the street. He's about to light up a second cigarette until he sees it: a _car_ parked right in front of Louis and Harry's house. He's not sure how he missed it, sure it's not parked in the driveway, but it's still placed right in front of their house.

He doesn't recall any visitors, so he lets his curiosity take over and wanders over to the parked vehicle. He takes a peek inside and nearly gasps at the sight. "Liam?!" he shouts.

Liam's head snaps up, away from his phone, and his beautiful brown eyes are widening at the sight of Zayn. He lets out a muffled squeal and opens the car door, rushing out.

And before Zayn can go around the car to greet him, Liam's running _away_. Zayn's not sure why he didn't drive off, but he doesn't question it any further as he chases after him.

They run like that for a while, dodging anyone that stands in their way. Zayn's never done this much exercise in his life, so when Liam finally stops, Zayn's struggling to catch his breath.

"G-Give... Me... a-a moment," Zayn pants out. He's bent over with his hands placed on his knees, trying to get as much oxygen as possible.

"Okay, wow, you need to go to the gym more often," Liam comments. He's stood in front of Zayn with no indication that he just ran a few blocks, not even a single bead of sweat.

He rolls his eyes and stands upright, regaining his breath. "Sorry, didn't know you were going to fucking run off the moment I saw you. Should've stretched, yeah?"

He shakes his head, raven-colored strands of hair moving along with him. "What the fuck is your problem anyway? I've called you loads of times, and you don't answer? And were you parked in front of Louis and Harry's house? Were you stalking us? Stalking me? Unless you go for people who are already taken, which I doubt you do. And if you were stalking me, that wouldn't make much sense either, since you freaked out when we kissed—"

Zayn gasps as Liam cups his face, directing his gaze on to his brown-eyes. He's leaning forward and Zayn doesn't fight it as Liam's lips meet his. This kiss is a lot rougher and needier. Liam's pressed tight against him and their lips move against each other, their tongue's meeting every so often.

Liam pulls away before Zayn completely lost himself in the kiss. "Oh, shit, no, sorry... Sorry!" Liam exclaims.

He turns away from Zayn and is about to run off again until Zayn grabs his arm quickly, stopping him. "Oi, fucking stop! I'm not in the mood to run again." His arm remains on Liam until he's sure Liam won't run away. He lets go and takes a deep breath. "What's going on with you?"

Liam's about to lean in again and it takes every ounce of willpower for Zayn to back away to stop him. "Seriously, what the fuck? Stop."

"You stop!"

"Fuck, Liam, stop what?!"

"I don't know, just—" Liam's eyes burn into his own as he stares deeply into them. "Just stop making me want to kiss you."

"I— How—" Zayn grabs a hold of Liam's hand, and gives a gentle squeeze to the slightly larger hand. "You're afraid, aren't you?"

A small smile makes its way on to Liam's face, and he nods. "I've never felt such an urge to be with someone before, and you don't have a necklace, so we can't even be sure..." He reaches forward and runs a hand through Zayn's messy hair, pushing it back.

"Well, Liam, I like kissing you and you like kissing me."

"So?"

"So, who says we have to stop?"

Liam shakes his head. "Zayn... I don't know if I'm willing to take that bet."

The hazel-eyed male shrugs his shoulders and smiles. "Who says it has to be anything official? Maybe this thing, whatever it is, can just be between us two."

"Nothing official, then?"

Zayn's mind is running wild, thinking of all of the possible consequences to this idea. But all he can focus on is Liam, Liam, _Liam._ "Just two people who can't get away from each other."

Liam stares at the ground and takes a moment to contemplate the idea. He looks up back into Zayn's eyes and chuckles. "Kiss on it?"

Zayn takes a step towards Liam and wraps his arms around his neck; he leans forward and captures Liam's lips in a long, gentle kiss that leaves the both of them breathless.

And even though Zayn's mind is shouting at him to stop this before it starts, that this can't possibly end well, he ignores all of it. As long as he gets to be with Liam, the man who's taken Zayn's heart without him realizing it, nothing can go wrong.


End file.
